The proposed Norfolk and Suffolk Devolution Deal was published on 17 June 2016. Since then, all of the councils in Suffolk, along with Norfolk County Council, Broadland District Council, the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, South Norfolk Council and the New Anglia LEP have endorsed the deal. The other councils in Norfolk have decided not to go ahead with a combined authority at this stage.
The deal involves having an Elected Mayor for Norfolk and Suffolk and a combined authority - where councils join together to make collective decisions on matters that affect the combined authority area.
Devolution would mean greater control locally over the decisions that impact on all our lives – decisions about Norfolk and Suffolk made in Norfolk and Suffolk.
Specifically, the proposed deal could mean control of more than £1bn of funding to improve Norfolk and Suffolk; enable us to create 95,000 jobs by 2026, deliver around 200,000 homes over the lifetime of the deal and provide the skills that employees and businesses want.
Councils in Norfolk and Suffolk have undertaken a Governance Review to look in depth at the pros and cons of joining together. They have published proposals for how a new combined authority could work, called a Scheme of Governance.
Local people, businesses and organisations are now being asked what they think of the Scheme of Governance.
The consultation responses are sent to the Secretary of State who looks at these, alongside the Governance Review and the draft Scheme of Governance. They will then decide whether a Mayoral Combined Authority for Norfolk and Suffolk should be set up.
Please visit the Devolution Website to complete the survey by 23rd August 2016.